sunday indo wants the greens to win.

lol, of course they don't.

today, fianna fail managed to get a typically soft focus interview with bertie ahern into the sunday indo to coincide with the announcement of the general election date.(1) the pr guys are earning their shillings there anyway.

some more enda kenny bashing in a piece by brendan o'connor, though the article is more about the sindos other hobby horse, the abolition of stamp duty. it's full of statements like..

And it might seem like an obvious one now that stamp duty is one of the major issues in this election if not the major bone of policy contention, but that's only because we banged on about it so much we normalised it

i personally doubt that it's a major election issue as o'connor himself makes clear, just cause the sindo goes on and on about it doesn't mean other people care as much.

For years we had all experienced anecdotal evidence about how first-time buyers were unable to buy because of it, how second-time buyers who wanted to have a kid couldn't upgrade from one bedroom to two because of it

that might be true, but removing it wouldn't automatically result in lower prices.

(1)doesn't appear to be a link to it on the website.

wille o'dea is a gobshite

i know it's pretty much a pro government paper but for some reason the sunday indo feels the need to give minister/master of obfuscation wille o'dea a column, which seems pointless 'cause they do a good job of kissing bertie's ass all on their own. anyway the first line of the article, unsurprisingly a personal attack on enda kenny, starts.....

it's hard to know what's more repugnant: fine gaels capacity for dirty tricks, or its sanctimonious holier-than-thou posturing while indulging in them.

ha ha ha ha ha, oh minister, your fine sense of irony really cracks me up. i especially liked that bit about sanctimonious holier-than-thou posturing.

in a previous post i said i wouldn't vote for fine gael, i'd like to amend that. i don't want to vote for fine gael but i'll have to just to get that smug, pompous collection of cunts (also sometimes known as fianna fail) out of power.

damn it.

fortis and an posts joint venture

and i should care because? generally i know it's nice to let the staff what's going on in the business, but i or anyone else who won't be working directly in this don't need to know so badly that we have to get an individual letter telling us about it. it's just not necessary.

usi types talk shite (as always)

the usi had a publicity stunt yesterday, ''calling on''(1) the parties to maintain free third level fees for at least the next 5 years.

now the annoying bit as far as i'm concerned is this from current usi prez, colm hamrogue...

''education is a right and not a privilege - it's enshrined in the constitution"

all true. the right to education is a right insofar as the state cannot stop you from acquiring one. however it not a right for you to have your education paid for by other people. if people or the government generally decided tomorrow to stop subsidising third-level, then that would just be tough luck.

having other taxpayers pay for your education is in fact a privilege.

(1)why does everyone ''call on'' the government to do stuff. nobody asks or requests. only public sector workers are honest enough to demand, though in reality all people who ''call on'' actually demand

hacks

i know it's almost impossible for journos to resist, a shameful compulsion even, but if you find yourself typing any sentence that contains the hoary, smug-fest of a cliche,

american dream turns into a nightmare

you should delete it immediately and go on a strict programme of fasting and beating yourself with hazel rods. this extreme measure is all that can save you from slipping into the depths of hackiness*. repent!!!!!


*if already in the depths of hackiness please disregard

undocumented irish

this article in the times, Irish illegals get support from home, quotes minister for foreign affairs dermot ahern,

"Our increasing prosperity is a phenomenon that all Irish people should take pride in. However, we should never forget the trauma of those who were forced to emigrate in less fortunate times or neglect those who remain in need today.

"Our new prosperity at home brings new responsibilities towards our communities abroad, particularly those who feel marginalised and isolated. The undocumented Irish in the United States are one such group."

Mr Ahern said while the undocumented were committed to building their lives in America, they also longed to have the opportunity to visit Ireland without fear of being denied re-entry.

"I am deeply conscious of how traumatic it is for an undocumented person to learn of a serious illness or death of a loved one in Ireland and be unable to visit the hospital or attend the funeral," he said.

"The awful pain of separation is particularly acute at such times."

of course our own government of which dermot is part, makes sure that the undocumented persons here can travel home to their countries when the same circumstances arise.

yeah right. the government doesn't seem to care how committed people are to building a life here when they're undocumented, more like deported as soon as possible. more than a bit cynical and hypocritical, or maybe politicians have learned doublethink, but what do expect out of politicians. sad thing is plenty of non politician eejits will spout the same rubbish.

that's totally different of course, we're irish, sure aren't we a great addition to america what with our natural charm and general fabulous-ness. see, obviously totally different to undocumented people here, anyway they're illegal not undocumented, sure they're probably all crooks and...... uhh well that's why is why

fucking aaahhh!!!! no.2

load of arse-biscuits number two, patricia casey on why cannabis is dangerous. it's basically a report about the independent on sundays in britain apology on cannabis. some of the claims in that report, especially about the links between cannabis and mental illness, were covered on the badscience website. anyway the point of this is that professor casey as though in a game of chinese whispers, manages to re-report the IOS arse ways

The variety of cannabis now being smoked is called “skunk”, and the active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, is up to 25 times more potent that the stuff beloved by the 1960s hippies.

first off it is alleged (look on the first badscience link) that ''skunk" contains 25 times more THC, not that THC has suddenly become 25 times more pharmacologically active. duh. even if it was getting stronger it doesn't mean everyone is getting higher. for example, vodka has a lot more alcohol than beer volume for volume, but how many people drink a pint of vodka in the same way they drink a pint of beer?

for a psychiatrist this next bit seems bizarre.

There is now a realisation that cannabis can provoke schizophrenia and other psychoses in vulnerable individuals, particularly young people, by releasing dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with schizophrenia. This is borne out by research at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, in which young people are given cannabis followed by a brain scan using modern imaging techniques.

The results show that the group who are given cannabis have higher levels of dopamine then those given a placebo.

dopamine is a neurotransmitter in everyones brain. incredibly sloppy reporting. dopamine is considered part of the brains reward mechanism, the release of dopamine is probably why people like cannabis. therefore the comparison with placebo says nothing, the study merely states the obvious. indeed schizophrenia is associated with dopamine (the dopamine hypothesis), but not in the clearcut way the professor implies.

In its recent editorial called “Cannabis: a retraction” on March 18, the Independent courageously stated that current concerns over its impact on mental health take precedence over the liberal instincts that inspired its campaign 10 years ago. Concluding its retraction, it quoted the economist John Maynard Keynes, as saying: “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”

Let us hope that the answer from those on this side of the Irish Sea who call for its legalisation will be, “So do I, sir”.

it's not up to anyone else to decide the correct level of risk in relation to your own affairs. no matter what the IOS or any experts think they don't have a right to control other peoples actions even if they've got good intentions. it also ignores the one of the main arguments for legalisation which is the easing of the effects of criminal control of the drugs trade. really annoying.

fucking aaahhh!!!!

there i was checking out the news on the indo's site (registration required) when i stumbled across two pieces of rubbish from march.

load of arse-biscuits number one. a piece of propaganda for an ''alternative therapy'' called earth energy healing. apart from promoting a total load of rubbish, the writer niamh hooper uses one of the hoariest rhetorical techniques, beloved of CAM boosters everywhere. the '' i was skeptical but...''

1) introduce therapy by telling how you heard about it, preferably through an a ''friend'' who swore by it.
2) profess skepticism of alleged healing therapy, but also profess possession of an open mind.
3) try therapy, and describe. describe the history. try to work in science or evidence angle. use words like knowledge, ancient, healing, holistic and so on.
4) practitioner describes some aliment or problem you're having (correctly of course). possibly you may be ''amazed'' or some synonym of this .
5)describe feeling better, lightened, cleansed, whatever and pronounce yourself convinced, your ''skepticism'' overcome. hallelujah

anyway back to the rubbish

Could energy fields radiating from deep within the earth be hazardous to your health and cause havoc in your life? Many practitioners are convinced that harmful energy fields arising from underground streams, large mineral deposits, faults or underground cavities could be compromising the health of millions.

The condition is called geo-pathic stress (GS) and is even said to be a contribution to all kinds of ailments including infertility, cancer, divorce and ME.

note the use of generic ''energy fields''. at the end we're informed it's an electomagnetic field. how exactly does this contribute ''to all kinds of aliments''. standard sort of pro-CAM argument, simply state things as though they were fact.

Considering that water has been proven to carry memory and that humans are made up of 70% water, he says it's natural that we would soak up the emotional energy in the earth.

no water has not been proven to carry memory. emotional energy of the earth? crap

He begins clearing the GS by working with the subtle energies and earth consciousness to bring about positive change.

earth consciousness??

Within seconds, my partner says he feels lighter. It's not until we're in the next room that I can feel a tingling warmth seep into my feet. He gradually works through the house.

For days following the clearing, I'm unusually emotional, after which there's a sense of clarity. Several weeks later, I'm sleeping better.

testimonial alert. my partner says he feels lighter. eh yeah.

pimp my ride uk is shit

i think that title says all that needs to be said. the wikipedia entry on tim westwood gives an indication why, most of it is criticism of his preposterous rapper speak. it's annoying out of americans, it's even more annoying out of an old white english guy with a bad haircut.

won't be voting for fine gael

yet more mindless populism from a political party, when during the dail debate on the criminal justice bill, fine gael attempted to add an amendment which would have allowed unconstitutionally obtained evidence to be used in trials!!!! WTF. but only when it was "accidentally" obtained so it's all right apparently. obviously fine gael don't want pesky technicalities (1) like constitutional rights to get in the way of them getting some votes, eh sorry getting justice served, yeah that sounds better. snark aside the amendment was thankfully not put into the already crap bill (2). right to silence, who needs that, lenghtened periods of detention for questioning for certain crimes. we have to "get tough on crime". election coming up after all.

it apparently didn't occur to the brains in fine gael that accidentally is a very broad and ambiguous term. what counts as a accident? who gets to decide whether it was an accident or not? did it occur to them that the gardai might, gasp, lie. god knows, it's never happened before. bunch of morons.

(1) yes, evidence not allowed because it was unconstitutionally obtained was actually described as a technicality.

(2) the reason given was that it would make the entire bill subject to challenge in the supreme court, rather than that government limiting citizens constitutional rights should be an idea completely beyond the pale in a republican democracy.